I was wondeirng if instead of using say the ancent Images of Inanna/Ishtar,if a person did not feel that an anceint Image of the Great Goddess conected them to Her,
would it be acceptable in the Nec Tradition to use oh say a pic of oh say a modern female model to place on your altar,if a certian one hit you as being the image you "envision" Inanna/Ishtar as looking like?

thanks

Xenos

Consider that the ancient depictions of inanna or ishtar where not photo-realistic images of beautiful women. This is not because artists didn't start getting good at that until recently. It is because the symbolism around the icon of the goddess is more important than her physical appearance. Also, you will not find a picture of a modern model who would not be offensive to the goddess. I mean seriously, this obsession with skinny is very new, very unhealthy, and represents a severe lack of respect for the female form in our culture. The bone structure alone indicates that our concept of 'ideal' is well outside how the female body was meant to develop. That and every picture you will find has been photoshopped to death - it is literally the industry standard, only grungy amateur photographers don't do it and even then it's usually that they don't retouch on purpose to make a point. Most of them retouch just to make the photo look more pleasing. If you were a force of nature and evolution, what would you think?

Stick to meaningful symbolic icons, and learn to connect to the underlying forces represented by them. They will take you to a more meaningful place and you will be less distracted by the illusions of the World. Inanna's 'sex appeal' doesn't come from her 'physical form' - it comes from the fact that she is a fount of creation, birthing existence perpetually in a state of divine eternal ecstasis. Connect with that.

peace

Thanks for the advice.

I set up an altar using 2 cinderblocks one on top of the other,put the photo on it with a candle on each side and one in front of it with 2 copper pennies on the altar seeing as they are made of her metal.

then I asked her to bless the altar,and said the following prayer I had found on line:

Prayer to Inanna


The pure torch that flares in the sky,

The heavenly light shining bright like the day

The Great Queen of Heaven, Inanna, I will hail...

Of Her majesty, of Her greatness, of her exceeding dignity

Of Her brilliant coming forth in the evening sky,

Of Her flaring in the sky - a pure torch -

Of Her standing in the sky like the sun and moon,

Known by all lands from the south and north

Of the greatness of the holy heaven

To the Lady I will sing.



then I set there and just talked to her like she was right there in the room, and I felt like an energy not only radiated from the altar but filled the air around it,an energy that was peaceful,relaxing,happy and loving. Thats the only way I can explain it.


Thanks

Xenos

It is possible to connect to the divine world without going through a deity. This sounds like a very positive experience, but shy of the primal nature of the Goddess.

I've known a lot of Goddess-centric practitioners. I hear of two experiences which I think are both probably valid. One is an experience of a very gentle, loving nature, a sense of nurturing motherly love.

The other experience is usually more shamanic in nature, and from what I can tell seems to be exclusive to practitioners who aren't happy until they are face to face with their Goddess. They describe their communion with her as terrifying, enlightening, humbling - being 'face to face' with the power of the ocean at storm, the quaking of the ground, the bursting forth of the volcano, the primal explosion of life that populates creation through a process both beautiful and terrible. The death of Stars that creates a living world.

This, to me, is reflected throughout most cultures. There are temples to the Gods and Goddesses - in them are the followers, who go to feel comforted and taken care of, and clergy, who go to Know their deity. If you want to be a practitioner, clergy, look past the happy feel good presence that occurs no matter who you are praying to, simply because you are praying, and go to the Goddess herself. Worship of Deity is something westerners are not very good at. We think about it too superficially, because we are selfish by nature - this is our culture, especially in america where a person can 'carve out the american dream' for themselves.

If you want to worship a Deity, do it right - dedicate yourself body and soul, and beg to know the face of your Deity, to know her will, and to be made capable and courageous enough to execute it with faith and trust. Don't worship a deity because you want her to do things for you. She won't, that isn't how deities work; go work with spirits if you want that kind of relationship. Deities guide the destiny of their followers and empower their devout worshippers. They plunge them into the darkness of spiritual warfare and protect them as they do battle. This is the nature of Deity.

Good luck.

peace

Well i'm a pertty tense person by nature,so that might have been her way of saying "relax a bit".I can't wait to get my another cop of the Necro.As to the gods,i'm looking for their guidance,I find is both insulting to them and silly at the same time that people would try to make them jump throught hoops,and sadly i've known a few wiccans like that (IMG:style_emoticons/default/angry_pissed_off_emoticon.gif)